Material Prioritization via Linear Programming (MPLP): Proof of Concept and Initial Results

June, 2022
IDA document: P-33037
FFRDC: Systems and Analyses Center
Type: Documents
Division: Strategy, Forces and Resources Division
Authors:
Authors
Eleanor L. Schwartz, Jerome Bracken See more authors
This paper develops several linear programming (LP) formulations that can be used to assess the effects of shortfalls of strategic and critical materials in a national emergency. The analysis proceeds from the basic premise that materials are valuable because they are used to produce essential goods and services. Each industrial sector of the U.S. economy is assumed to need a particular mix of materials, in particular proportions, in order to produce its output. In a national emergency, there might not be sufficient materials available (because of increased demand and/or reductions in supply) to produce all of the needed goods and services. The basic LP formulation determines how many of these goods and services can be produced if the available materials are allocated to the industrial sectors in an optimal manner.